Multi-device monitoring and control using intelligent device channel sharing

ABSTRACT

A physical network address of one of a set of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices is translated to a shared logical device physical network address in response to receipt from an application server of a first data packet addressed to the physical network address. The shared logical device physical network address forms a logical device group and physically addresses each of the set of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices over a single wireless communication channel. The physical network address of the one of the set of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices is embedded within the first data packet addressed to the shared logical device physical network address. The first data packet is sent to the shared logical device physical network address.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to and claimsthe benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/275,231 titled“MULTI-DEVICE MONITORING AND CONTROL USING INTELLIGENT DEVICE CHANNELSHARING,” which was filed in the United States Patent and TrademarkOffice on Oct. 17, 2011, which has a current status of “Allowed,” andthis application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/433,943 titled “MULTI-DEVICE MONITORING AND CONTROL USING INTELLIGENTDEVICE CHANNEL SHARING,” which was filed in the United States Patent andTrademark Office on Mar. 29, 2012, which also has a current status of“Allowed,” both of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to multiple device monitoring and control.More particularly, the present invention relates to multi-devicemonitoring and control using intelligent device channel sharing.

Electrical utility power is distributed for consumption using electricaldistribution networks that interconnect an electrical utility withelectric power customers. Electric meters interface with the electricaldistribution networks at electric power customer premises and measurethe amount of electricity consumed over time. The measurements ofelectricity consumption are used for billing the electric powercustomers for consumed electrical power.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A method includes translating, in response to receipt of a first datapacket addressed to a physical network address of one of a plurality ofwireless customer-premise monitoring devices from an application server,the physical network address to a shared logical device physical networkaddress that forms a logical device group and that physically addresseseach of the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devicesover a single wireless communication channel; embedding the physicalnetwork address of the one of the plurality of wireless customer-premisemonitoring devices within the first data packet addressed to the sharedlogical device physical network address; and sending the first datapacket to the shared logical device physical network address.

A system includes a communication module, and a processor programmed totranslate, in response to receipt of a first data packet addressed to aphysical network address of one of a plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices from an application server, thephysical network address to a shared logical device physical networkaddress that forms a logical device group and that physically addresseseach of the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devicesover a single wireless communication channel; embed the physical networkaddress of the one of the plurality of wireless customer-premisemonitoring devices within the first data packet addressed to the sharedlogical device physical network address; and send, via the communicationmodule, the first data packet to the shared logical device physicalnetwork address.

A computer program product includes a computer readable storage mediumincluding computer readable program code, where the computer readableprogram code when executed on a computer causes the computer totranslate, in response to receipt of a first data packet addressed to aphysical network address of one of a plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices from an application server, thephysical network address to a shared logical device physical networkaddress that forms a logical device group and that physically addresseseach of the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devicesover a single wireless communication channel; embed the physical networkaddress of the one of the plurality of wireless customer-premisemonitoring devices within the first data packet addressed to the sharedlogical device physical network address; and send the first data packetto the shared logical device physical network address.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of an implementation of a systemfor automated multi-device monitoring and control using intelligentdevice channel sharing according to an embodiment of the present subjectmatter;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of an implementation of a coreprocessing module capable of performing automated multi-devicemonitoring and control using intelligent device channel sharingaccording to an embodiment of the present subject matter;

FIG. 3 is a message flow diagram of an example of an implementation ofmessaging for device interactions for sharing of a shared-identitysubscriber identity module (SIM) to implement automated multi-devicemonitoring and control using intelligent device channel sharing within acellular network according to an embodiment of the present subjectmatter;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an example of an implementation of a processfor automated multi-device monitoring and control using intelligentdevice channel sharing according to an embodiment of the present subjectmatter;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an example of an implementation of a processfor address translation and messaging interactions at a channel sharinggateway for automated multi-device monitoring and control usingintelligent device channel sharing according to an embodiment of thepresent subject matter;

FIG. 6A is a flow chart of an example of an implementation of initialprocessing within a process associated with wireless physical devicesfor automated multi-device monitoring and control using intelligentdevice channel sharing according to an embodiment of the present subjectmatter;

FIG. 6B is a flow chart of an example of an implementation of additionalprocessing within a process associated with wireless physical devicesfor automated multi-device monitoring and control using intelligentdevice channel sharing according to an embodiment of the present subjectmatter; and

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an example of an implementation of a processfor registration of physical devices at a channel sharing gateway forautomated multi-device monitoring and control using intelligent devicechannel sharing according to an embodiment of the present subjectmatter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The examples set forth below represent the necessary information toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and illustratethe best mode of practicing the invention. Upon reading the followingdescription in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilledin the art will understand the concepts of the invention and willrecognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressedherein. It should be understood that these concepts and applicationsfall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.

The subject matter described herein provides multi-device monitoring andcontrol using intelligent device channel sharing. A shared logicaldevice physical network address is assigned to each of a group ofwireless physical devices and a single wireless communication channel isused to communicate with all devices in the group. The group of wirelessphysical devices forms a logical device group addressable via the sharedlogical device physical network address within a wireless network. Theshared logical device physical network address is used for network levelcommunications with the group over the single wireless communicationchannel. A channel sharing gateway intercepts messaging between aserver, such as an application server, and the wireless physicaldevices. For messages intercepted from the server, the physical networkaddresses of the wireless physical devices are translated to the sharedlogical device physical network address with which the wireless physicaldevices are logically grouped. The physical network addresses of thewireless physical devices are embedded within data packets addressed tothe shared logical device physical network address and received from thephysical devices via the shared logical device physical network address.For messages intercepted from the physical devices, the shared logicaldevice physical network address is used as source addresses of the datapackets and the shared logical device physical network addresses aretranslated to the embedded physical network addresses of the wirelessphysical devices. The phrase “physical device” may be usedinterchangeably with “wireless physical device” herein for both thesingular and plural contexts. Wireless physical devices, as describedherein, may be used for example in monitoring and control of smart gridapplications, such as monitoring and controlling electrical powerdistribution networks, and other networks including water distributionnetworks, and gas distribution networks. As such, the wireless physicaldevices may for example form at least a portion of a network of smartgrid electrical power distribution system monitoring devices, a networkof water distribution system monitoring devices, and a network of gasdistribution system monitoring devices, among other possibleimplementations.

The present subject matter may be utilized, for example, where a numberof devices, such as smart grid or other monitored devices, exceeds anumber of available channels within a wireless network. Additionally,the present subject matter is applicable where channel sharing isdesired to reduce capital expenditures for wireless infrastructure, suchas cell sites, to accommodate large numbers of smart grid or othermonitored devices. The present subject matter may further be appliedwhere channels may be shared to conserve wireless access charges, andmay be utilized where the respective wireless devices operate with datarequirements that are less than data capacity (bandwidth) of therespective wireless channels. The present subject matter applies to manyforms of wireless networks, including cellular networks, wirelessbroadband access technologies such as worldwide interoperability formicrowave access (WIMAX®) networks, or other wireless networks that mayhave channel limitations as the number of access devices increases.

For cellular applications, physical devices are equipped with twosubscriber identity module (SIM) cards. Multiple physical devices areconfigured as a logical pool/group. A first “shared-identity” SIM modulein each physical device within a logical group is configured for sharedcommunications over a wireless network via a shared logical devicephysical network address. Multiple wireless communication sessionsbetween an application-level device, such as an application server, andthe physical devices within the logical group are multiplexed over asingle wireless channel by a channel sharing gateway. A second“individual-identity” SIM module in each physical device providesindividual access to the wireless network via a separate wirelesschannel and is used by wireless physical devices to obtain sharedwireless channel access information (e.g., session keys, etc.) from thechannel sharing gateway for use during multiplexed communications usingthe shared-identity SIM card. The channel sharing gateway also usescommunications via the second individual-identity SIM card of eachphysical device for configuration and upgrade of individual wirelessphysical devices, as described in more detail below.

Using the dual SIM technology described herein, a first physical devicethat attempts to register with a home location register (HLR) using theshared-identity SIM may be granted registration and provided withsession information. This initial registrant may then communicate withthe channel sharing gateway and provide the session information to thechannel sharing gateway. Subsequent physical devices that attempt toregister with the HLR using the shared-identity SIM may be deniedregistration. Such devices may then register with the HLR using theindividual-identity SIM to allow communications with the channel sharinggateway and may obtain the session information for use with theshared-identity SIM from the channel sharing gateway. The devices maythen configure the shared-identity SIM with the obtained sessioninformation and switch to the shared-identity SIM for multiplexedcommunications as part of the respective logical device group.

As described above, the multi-device monitoring and control usingintelligent device channel sharing is implemented by grouping wirelessphysical devices into logical device pools/groups. Each device within alogical group is assigned to a common logical device identity (i.e.,shared logical device physical network address) for physicalcommunications using the shared-identity SIM card. The channel sharinggateway interfaces between the application server and a wireless networkelement, such as a base station, that ultimately interconnects with thephysical devices within the logical device group. The channel sharinggateway operates to multiplex the multiple wireless communicationsessions over the single shared communication channel using theshared-identity SIM card, as described above and in more detail below.The channel sharing gateway also operates to individually communicatewith physical devices using the second individual-identity SIM card overseparate wireless channels.

The channel sharing gateway intercepts messages from the applicationserver that are destined for individual physical devices and convertsthe messages to use the logical device identity as the destinationaddress. The channel sharing gateway encodes a physical deviceidentifier of the respective physical device(s) to which the messageswere originally sent by the application server into a payload of datapackets that are physically addressed to the common shared logicaldevice identity. Each physical device receives each message targeted tothe logical device identity and parses the payload for the physicaldevice identifier. The physical device identifier within the payloadallows each physical device within a group to logically distinguishcommunications that are intended for the respective physical device thatare received via the logical device identity of the group.

The channel sharing gateway causes each physical device to initiatetransmission of data packets generated by the physical device (e.g.,monitored data, status, etc.) by sending a token to the respectivephysical devices within data packets that are logically addressed to therespective physical devices using the physical device identifiersencoded within the payload of the respective messages. Each physicaldevice responds with its physical device identifier encoded into apayload of a response data packet that is physically addressed to thechannel sharing gateway using the common shared logical device identity.

In response to receipt of a message addressed to the channel sharinggateway from the common shared logical device identity that is destinedfor the application server, the channel sharing gateway de-multiplexesthe shared communication by extracting the physical device identifierfrom the payload of the response message and converting the sourceaddress to the address of the respective physical device. The channelsharing gateway forwards the message to the application server.

As such, network addresses of each wireless physical device aretranslated for sharing the logical device physical network address andmultiple physical devices share a single designated communicationchannel without modification of the wireless communicationsinfrastructure or modification of an application server device thatcollects data from the physical devices. Accordingly, the presentsubject matter may be implemented without modification of either theapplication server or the wireless network elements (e.g., basestations, etc.).

The physical device identifier that is encoded into the payload of adata packet provides logical addressing for each device above thenetwork physical connection layer for packets that are physicallyaddressed to the logical device identity. Packet addressing for packetsdirected to the common shared logical device identity may be decoded bythe respective devices using the respective physical device identifier.

Multiple physical devices may be addressed within a payload of a singlelogical message. For example, broadcast messages may be used toconfigure, reset, or otherwise interact with a number of devices withina logical group. Other variations are possible and all are consideredwithin the scope of the present subject matter.

It should be noted that, between the channel sharing gateway and thelogical group, the physical address of the logical group that is used bythe channel sharing gateway for communicating via the wireless channelrepresents a logical address for the group of devices. Conversely, thephysical addresses of the devices encoded into the payload of therespective messages represent logical addresses of the physical devices.As such, the present description to some degree inverts the concepts oflogical and physical addressing. For example, a message that is carriedover the wireless communication channel is physically addressed to alogical group. However, individual devices are logically addressedwithin the payload of the message (addressed to the logical group) usingphysical device identifiers of the respective physical devices.

With further reference to physical device message processing, asdescribed above, in response to receipt of a data packet/messageaddressed to the shared logical device identity, each physical devicewithin the logical device pool/group opens the data packet addressed tothe logical device and examines the physical device identifier withinthe payload to determine whether the packet is logically addressed to(e.g., intended for) the respective physical device. If the packet isnot intended for the respective physical device, the packet may bediscarded. If the packet is intended for the respective physical device,the packet is passed to the device application layer that is executed bya processor device of the physical device for processing. The deviceapplication layer determines the processing requested by thepacket/message. The requested processing may include configuring thephysical device for operations, reporting status (e.g., operational,fault conditions, etc.), reporting measurements (e.g., power readings),or other processing as appropriate for a given implementation.

When sending packets to a monitoring device, such as an applicationserver, the application layer that is executed by processing device ofthe respective physical device encapsulates data generated by thephysical device on behalf of the monitoring device into a datapacket/message that appears to have come from the logical device. Thedata may include response information (e.g., acknowledgement(s),measurement(s), etc.) to messages that are received or information thatis configured to be sent at a particular time (e.g., measurement(s),etc.). The application layer waits until it receives a token from thechannel sharing gateway via the shared communication channel thatsignals that it is the respective device's turn to transmit data. Theapplication layer then forwards the formed packet payload or packet tothe network layer to be sent to the monitoring device for processing.The network layer packages the data into a network layer packet/messagethat includes the physical device identifier in the payload and that hasthe logical address of the logical group as the source address. Thenetwork layer addresses the network layer packet/message to theapplication server and forwards the network layer packet/message. Asdescribed above, the channel sharing gateway intercepts the messagedestined for the application server and converts the source address ofthe logical group to represent the source address of the physical deviceusing the payload-encoded physical device identifier of the respectivephysical device.

It should be noted that the physical devices may alternatively directlyaddress the channel sharing gateway and encode the address of theapplication server within the payload as a destination address. In suchan implementation, the channel sharing gateway may convert both thesource and destination addresses from the logical group and channelsharing gateway, respectively, to the physical device and applicationserver. Additionally, the channel sharing gateway may document or trackthe messaging sessions between the application server and the respectivephysical devices within the logical device group to expedite the returnmessage service de-multiplexing, such as via a logical communicationsession table or other data structure stored within a memory.Alternatively, the channel sharing gateway may perform full real-timeprocessing to multiplex and de-multiplex communication sessions andmessages without tracking outstanding communication sessions, asappropriate for a given implementation.

It should be noted that the token may further be implemented as thephysical device identifier for implementations with physical devicesthat are configured to send data routinely. Alternatively, the token maybe implemented as an additional data field within the payload asappropriate for the given implementation. As such, many possiblevariations exist for logical device communications between the channelsharing gateway and physical devices over a shared communicationchannel, and all such possible variations are considered within thescope of the present subject matter.

Encryption may be used to prevent devices that have been tampered withfrom maliciously reading packets/messages not intended for them. Anyencryption algorithm suitable for the intended purpose may be used asappropriate for the given implementation.

In view of the description above and as described in more detail below,multiple devices may share a single wireless channel and operate withrespect to the wireless channel as a single logical device, and maysimultaneously access and use the available capacity of the wirelesschannel. The channel sharing gateway multiplexes multiple wirelesscommunications sessions using a form of network address translation(NAT), as described in more detail below, over one or more availablephysical wireless channels. The channel sharing gateway uses NAT tomanipulate data packets/messages communicated between the applicationserver and the respective wireless physical devices by encapsulating thedata packet for the physical device into a packet for the logical devicephysical address with which the physical device is logically associated.The channel sharing gateway maintains a register of physical devices andlogical device associations using a data structure stored within amemory, as appropriate for a given implementation.

As described above, the present subject matter may be utilized, forexample, where a number of smart grid or other monitored devices exceedsa number of available channels within a wireless network. The presentsubject matter may further be applied where channels may be shared toconserve wireless access charges, and may be utilized where therespective wireless devices operate with data requirements that are lessthan data capacity (bandwidth) of the respective wireless channels.

Additionally, again with reference to a cellular implementation,multiple channels may be used for communication to the physical deviceswithin a given logical pool. In such a situation, devices may becontrolled to space their transmissions to conserve network bandwidth.Within such an implementation, as each physical device is switched on orbegins operation, the device may attempt to connect to the respectivenetwork. Each device may be uniquely identified by the network and maybe registered in the HLR. The network generates billing records for eachphysical device. Each device may connect to the channel sharing gatewayand identify itself as being a member of a logical pool of devices. Thechannel sharing gateway may use an Internet protocol (IP) addressingscheme to ensure devices do not send IP packets at the same time usingthe token-based techniques described herein. The devices may wait to beinstructed when to transmit data, with the result that devicescommunicate serially and not in parallel. As such, bandwidth within thecellular network may be conserved.

It should also be noted that the present description utilizes a smartgrid as a monitoring domain and smart grid devices as monitored devicesfor purposes of example. However, the present subject matter may beapplied to other monitoring domains and devices, such as vehicles,vending machines, water distribution networks, telephone companyinfrastructure, and other systems where monitoring of multiple devicesmay be desired. Accordingly, all such monitoring domains are consideredwithin the scope of the present subject matter.

To further detail smart grid for purposes of the present examples, smartgrid represents an evolution of the electricity/electrical distributionnetwork where information and communications technology are integratedwith the electricity power network to monitor, control, and optimize theelectricity power network. Within a smart grid implementation,electricity power network components include devices such astransformers, switches, cables, and other componentry. These electricitypower network components are monitored by intelligent devices, such asapplication servers, that gather and communicate electrical status, suchas voltage, current, and power over an Internet protocol-based(IP-based) data communications network to remote servers. Smart gridalso incorporates network communications and processing features withincustomer premise-based meters, referred to herein as “smart meters,”that relay electricity consumption data and alarms to the electricitysupplier.

Within a smart grid implementation, power network information such asevents, alarms, meter readings, and other data are captured, reported,and analyzed. The analyzed power network information may result inactions that are undertaken to ensure optimization of the electricitysupply, infrastructure, and workforce.

It should be noted that conception of the present subject matterresulted from recognition of certain limitations associated with smartgrid network component monitoring. It was recognized that publicwireless networks provided by communications service providers (CSPs)are shared by multiple subscribers and businesses. Each device connectedto the wireless network has a unique/individual identifier, such as amedia access control (MAC) address within the IEEE 802.11 standard, oran international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) within the globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM) standard. The unique/individualidentifier enables calls, data, and messages to be generated, sent, andreceived by the individual devices. Within conventional wirelessnetworks, one communication channel is consumed per device. This channelremains allocated for the duration of the communication session (whichmay last as long as the device is switched on) regardless of whether thedevice continues to communicate or not. It was further recognized thatthe volume of smart grid devices deployed to monitor an electrical/powerdistribution network, for example, may far exceed the number ofcommunication channels that a particular cell of a conventional wirelesscommunication system may support. Additionally, using the powerdistribution network as an example, it was recognized that during anemergency situation such as a hurricane or tornado for example, portionsof the electrical distribution network may be inoperative and may needto be repaired. Service personnel may attempt to communicate with largenumbers of smart grid devices to diagnose and repair the powerdistribution network. Further, emergency personnel and other persons mayattempt to utilize wireless communication cells using their wirelesshandheld devices at increased levels during such times, while theutility company service personnel are attempting to access large numbersof devices to determine where power outages exist so that the powerdistribution network may be brought back online as quickly as possible.However, the ability to connect to all monitored devices may be limiteddue to increased wireless handheld device usage. Additionally, thetraffic load for monitored smart grid devices may be less than thecapacity of a given channel used to communicate with the respectivedevices, which results in bandwidth inefficiencies in current wirelesschannel usage for smart grid implementations. The present subject matterimproves multi-device monitoring and control and channel usageefficiency by providing for intelligent device channel sharing, asdescribed above and in more detail below. As such, improved multi-devicemonitoring and control may be obtained through the subject matterdescribed herein.

The multi-device monitoring and control using intelligent device channelsharing described herein may be performed in real time to allow promptmonitoring of multiple devices via a wireless communications channel.For purposes of the present description, real time shall include anytime frame of sufficiently short duration as to provide reasonableresponse time for information processing acceptable to a user of thesubject matter described. Additionally, the term “real time” shallinclude what is commonly termed “near real time”—generally meaning anytime frame of sufficiently short duration as to provide reasonableresponse time for on-demand information processing acceptable to a userof the subject matter described (e.g., within a portion of a second orwithin a few seconds). These terms, while difficult to precisely defineare well understood by those skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of an implementation of a system100 for automated multi-device monitoring and control using intelligentdevice channel sharing. An application server 102 interfaces with achannel sharing gateway 104. The channel sharing gateway 104 operates tomultiplex communications from the application server 102 for multiplephysical devices, as described in more detail below, over a number ofcommunication channels that is less than the number of physical devices.For purposes of the present example, the number of physical devices isassumed to far exceed the number of available communication channels,such as by an order of magnitude or greater for example. However, itshould be understood that the relationship of physical devices toavailable channels may vary as appropriate for a given implementation.It should additionally be noted that, though the example of FIG. 1represents certain components, such as a base station described below,that are associated with cellular communications, the present subjectmatter is also applicable to other wireless domains including but notlimited to WIMAX® networks or other wireless networks that may havechannel limitations as the number of access devices increase. As such,the present example may be modified as appropriate for the givenimplementation based upon the description provided herein.

The channel sharing gateway 104 interfaces with a base station 106 tocommunicate, via multiple communication channels represented as acommunication channel 108 through a communication channel 110, withphysical devices that are organized into logical pools/groupsrepresented as a logical device_(—)1 112 through a logical device_X 114.The logical device_(—)1 112 includes multiple physical devicesrepresented as a physical device_(—)1 116, a physical device_(—)2 118,through a physical device_N 120. The logical device_X 114 includesmultiple physical devices represented as a physical device_(—)1 122, aphysical device_(—)2 124, through a physical device_M 126.

For purposes of the present example, the application server 102, thebase station 106, and the communication channels 108 through 110represent components that are not modified to perform the processingdescribed herein. The channel sharing gateway 104 maintains a registerof physical devices and the logical device pool/group (e.g., the logicaldevice_(—)1 112 through the logical device_X 114) with which eachphysical device is associated. The channel sharing gateway 104 utilizesthis register to translate addresses between the application server andthe respective physical devices.

The channel sharing gateway 104 operates as a multiplexor of multiplewireless communications sessions over the individual communicationchannels 108 through 110. The channel sharing gateway 104 uses a form ofnetwork address translation (NAT) to multiplex “M” logicalcommunications sessions onto “N” available physical wireless channelsrepresented by the communication channels 108 through 110. The channelsharing gateway 104 uses NAT to manipulate data packets communicatedbetween the application server 102 and the physical devices 116 through126 by encapsulating the data packet for the physical device into apacket addressed to the respective logical device 112 through 114 withwhich the respective physical device is associated. The channel sharinggateway 104 also passes a token to each physical device to indicate tothe respective physical device when that device is to transmit data.

For any given communication sequence, the channel sharing gateway 104intercepts packets sent from the application server 102 that arephysically addressed to physical devices, such as the physical devices116 through 126. The channel sharing gateway 104 determines within whichlogical group the respective physical device is located (e.g., thelogical device_(—)1 112 through the logical device_X 114) and performsan address translation to physically route the data packets torespective logical device. The channel sharing gateway 104 reformats thedata packet/message to physically address the data packet to therespective logical device and places the physical address of therespective physical device within the payload of the packets addressedto the respective logical device.

Within FIG. 1, the communication channel 108 is shown to include severaldata packets that are each physically addressed to the logicaldevice_(—)1 112 for purposes of the present example. As can be seen, thecommunication channel 108 includes a data packet 128 that encapsulates aphysical address (PD_(—)1) of physical device_(—)1 116, a data packet130 that encapsulates a physical address (PD_(—)2) of physicaldevice_(—)2 118, up to a data packet 132 that encapsulates a physicaladdress (PD_N) of physical device_N 120. It is understood that each datapacket is physically addressed to the logical device address of thelogical device_(—)1 112.

Similarly, the communication channel 110 is shown to include severaldata packets that are each physically addressed to the logical device_X114. As can be seen, the communication channel 110 includes a datapacket 134 that encapsulates a physical address (PD_(—)1) of physicaldevice_(—)1 122, a data packet 136 that encapsulates a physical address(PD_(—)2) of physical device_(—)2 124, up to a data packet 138 thatencapsulates a physical address (PD_M) of physical device_M 126. It isunderstood that each data packet is physically addressed to the logicaldevice address of the logical device_X 114.

A home location register (HLR) 140 provides registration and otheroperations within the system 100. As will be described in more detailbelow, the HLR 140 may be used by devices within any of the logicaldevice_(—)1 112 through the logical device_X 114 for registrationactivities and session information (e.g., session key) sharing amongphysical devices within the respective logical device. For example, afirst physical device to attempt to register with the HLR 140 using theshared-identity SIM may be granted registration and provided withsession information. This initial registrant may then communicate withthe channel sharing gateway 104 and provide the session information tothe channel sharing gateway 104. Subsequent physical devices thatattempt to register with the HLR 140 using the shared-identity SIM maybe denied registration. Such devices may then register with the HLR 140using the individual-identity SIM to allow communications with thechannel sharing gateway 104 and obtain the session information for usewith the shared-identity SIM from the channel sharing gateway 104. Thedevices may then configure the shared-identity SIM with the obtainedsession information and switch to the shared-identity SIM forcommunications as described herein as part of the respective logicaldevice.

As will be described in more detail below in association with FIG. 2through FIG. 7, the channel sharing gateway 104 provides automatedmulti-device monitoring and control using intelligent device channelsharing. The automated multi-device monitoring and control usingintelligent device channel sharing is based upon bi-directionalinterception of data packets/messages between the application server 102and physical devices and bi-directional address translation. As such,multiple devices may use one communication channel and cut down ontraffic and bandwidth consumption. The automated multi-device monitoringand control using intelligent device channel sharing may be implementedwithout modification of wireless network infrastructure and may reduceup-fit costs as increasing numbers of wireless physical devices aredeployed within wireless networking domains.

It should be noted that the channel sharing gateway 104 may be aportable computing device or a desktop or rack-mounted computing device,as appropriate for a given implementation. For a portable computingdevice implementation, the channel sharing gateway 104 may be portableeither by a user's ability to move the channel sharing gateway 104 todifferent locations, or by the channel sharing gateway 104's associationwith a portable platform, such as a plane, train, automobile, or othermoving vehicle. It should also be noted that the channel sharing gateway104 may be any computing device capable of processing information asdescribed above and in more detail below. For example, the channelsharing gateway 104 may include devices such as a server, a personalcomputer (e.g., desktop, laptop, etc.) or any other device capable ofprocessing information as described in more detail below.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of an implementation of a coreprocessing module 200 capable of performing automated multi-devicemonitoring and control using intelligent device channel sharing. Thecore processing module 200 may be associated with each of the channelsharing gateway 104 and with any of the physical devices 116 through126, as appropriate for a given implementation. Further, the coreprocessing module 200 may provide different and complementary processingof logical address mapping, and messaging conversions and processing, inassociation with each implementation, as described above and in moredetail below. For example, the channel sharing gateway 104 may performaddress translations and a physical device, such as the physicaldevice_(—)1 116 through the physical device_M 126, may process messageswith the translated addresses and respond with messages addressed in aformat that may be reverse translated by the channel sharing gateway 104

For any of the examples below, it is understood that any aspect offunctionality described with respect to any one device that is describedin conjunction with another device (e.g., sends/sending, etc.) is to beunderstood to concurrently describe the functionality of the otherrespective device (e.g., receives/receiving, etc.).

A central processing unit (CPU) 202 provides computer instructionexecution, computation, and other capabilities within the coreprocessing module 200. A display 204 provides visual information to auser of the core processing module 200 and an input device 206 providesinput capabilities for the user.

The display 204 may include any display device, such as a cathode raytube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting diode (LED),electronic ink displays, projection, touchscreen, or other displayelement or panel. The input device 206 may include a computer keyboard,a keypad, a mouse, a pen, a joystick, or any other type of input deviceby which the user may interact with and respond to information on thedisplay 204.

It should be noted that the display 204 and the input device 206 areillustrated with a dashed-line representation within FIG. 2 to indicatethat they may be optional components for the core processing module 200for certain implementations. Accordingly, the core processing module 200may operate as a completely automated embedded device without directuser configurability or feedback. However, the core processing module200 may also provide user feedback and configurability via the display204 and the input device 206, respectively.

A communication module 208 provides interconnection capabilities thatallow the core processing module 200 to communicate with other moduleswithin the system 100. The communication module 208 may include anyelectrical, protocol, and protocol conversion capabilities useable toprovide the interconnection capabilities. Though the communicationmodule 208 is illustrated as a component-level module for ease ofillustration and description purposes, it should be noted that thecommunication module 208 may include any hardware, programmedprocessor(s), and memory used to carry out the functions of thecommunication module 208 as described above and in more detail below.For example, the communication module 208 may include additionalcontroller circuitry in the form of application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), processors, antennas, and/or discrete integratedcircuits and components for performing communication and electricalcontrol activities associated with the communication module 208.Additionally, the communication module 208 may include interrupt-level,stack-level, and application-level modules as appropriate. Furthermore,the communication module 208 may include any memory components used forstorage, execution, and data processing for performing processingactivities associated with the communication module 208. Thecommunication module 208 may also form a portion of other circuitrydescribed without departure from the scope of the present subjectmatter.

A memory 210 includes a logical address management storage area 212. Foran implementation of the logical address management storage area 212within the channel sharing gateway 104, the logical address managementstorage area 212 may store a register of physical devices and physicaldevice associations with logical devices (e.g., logical pools/groups ofdevices). The register of physical devices and physical deviceassociations with logical devices may be organized in any formatappropriate for a given implementation. The register of physical devicesand physical device associations with logical devices stores physicaladdresses of physical devices and mappings between physical deviceaddresses and the respective logical device address of the logicaldevice with which each physical device is associated. The logicaladdress management storage area 212 may also store token patterns,sequencing, and processing information for causing of communicationsfrom physical devices within the respective logical device pools. Manyother possibilities exist for storage at a channel sharing gateway ofinformation associated with automated multi-device monitoring andcontrol using intelligent device channel sharing, and all are consideredwithin the scope of the present subject matter.

For an implementation of the logical address management storage area 212within the physical devices 116 through 126, the logical addressmanagement storage area 212 may store physical address information forthe respective physical device and logical address information for thelogical device (e.g., group/pool) with which the respective physicaldevice is located. The logical address management storage area 212 mayalso store token patterns and processing information for determiningwhen communication has been requested by the channel sharing gateway104. Many other possibilities exist for storage at a wireless physicaldevice of information associated with automated multi-device monitoringand control using intelligent device channel sharing, and all areconsidered within the scope of the present subject matter.

It is understood that the memory 210 may include any combination ofvolatile and non-volatile memory suitable for the intended purpose,distributed or localized as appropriate, and may include other memorysegments not illustrated within the present example for ease ofillustration purposes. For example, the memory 210 may include a codestorage area, an operating system storage area, a code execution area,and a data area without departure from the scope of the present subjectmatter.

An address translation processing module 214 is also illustrated. For animplementation of the address translation processing module 214 withinthe channel sharing gateway 104, the address translation processingmodule 214 provides address translation configuration for the logicaladdress management storage area 212. The address translation processingmodule 214 also intercepts messages/packets andmultiplexing/de-multiplexing of addresses between the application server102 and the logical devices with which physical devices are logicallygrouped/pooled. The address translation processing module 214 implementsthe automated multi-device monitoring and control using intelligentdevice channel sharing of the core processing module 200.

For an implementation of the address translation processing module 214within the physical devices 116 through 126, the address translationprocessing module 214 interprets received messages to determine whetherthe message is directed to the respective physical device with which theaddress translation processing module 214 is implemented. In response todetermining that a message is directed to the respective physicaldevice, the address translation processing module 214 determines whetherthe message is a configuration message or a token that indicates therespective physical module is to begin sending data. It is alsounderstood that, in association with the address translation processingcapabilities, the address translation processing module 214 may alsooperate to collect data (e.g., measurements, readings, etc.) for therespective physical device or, alternatively, the CPU 202 may beimplemented to perform the respective data collection processing asappropriate for a given implementation. Additionally, it is understoodthat memory for collection of data may be allocated with the memory 210for any such implementation.

Though the address translation processing module 214 is illustrated as acomponent-level module for ease of illustration and descriptionpurposes, it should be noted that the address translation processingmodule 214 may include any hardware, programmed processor(s), and memoryused to carry out the functions of this module as described above and inmore detail below. For example, the address translation processingmodule 214 may include additional controller circuitry in the form ofapplication specific integrated circuits (ASICs), processors, and/ordiscrete integrated circuits and components for performing communicationand electrical control activities associated with the respectivedevices. Additionally, the address translation processing module 214 mayinclude interrupt-level, stack-level, and application-level modules asappropriate. Furthermore, the address translation processing module 214may include any memory components used for storage, execution, and dataprocessing for performing processing activities associated with themodule.

It should also be noted that the address translation processing module214 may form a portion of other circuitry described without departurefrom the scope of the present subject matter. Further, the addresstranslation processing module 214 may alternatively be implemented as anapplication stored within the memory 210. In such an implementation, theaddress translation processing module 214 may include instructionsexecuted by the CPU 202 for performing the functionality describedherein. The CPU 202 may execute these instructions to provide theprocessing capabilities described above and in more detail below for thecore processing module 200. The address translation processing module214 may form a portion of an interrupt service routine (ISR), a portionof an operating system, a portion of a browser application, or a portionof a separate application without departure from the scope of thepresent subject matter.

As described above, physical devices are equipped with two subscriberidentity module (SIM) cards and multiple physical devices are configuredas a logical pool/group using one of the SIM cards. A first“shared-identity” SIM 216 in each physical device within a logical groupis configured for shared communications over a wireless network.Multiple wireless communication sessions between an application-leveldevice, such as the application server 102, and the physical deviceswithin a logical group are multiplexed over a single wireless channel bythe channel sharing gateway 104. A second “individual-identity” SIM 218in each physical device provides individual access to the wirelessnetwork via a separate wireless channel and is used by wireless physicaldevices to obtain shared wireless channel access information (e.g.,session keys, etc.) from the channel sharing gateway 104 for use duringmultiplexed communications using the shared-identity SIM 216. Thechannel sharing gateway 104 also uses communications via the secondindividual-identity SIM 218 of each physical device for configurationand upgrade of individual wireless physical devices, as described aboveand in more detail below. It should be noted that the shared-identitySIM 216 and the individual-identity SIM 218 are illustrated with adashed-line representation within FIG. 2 to indicate that they areassociated with implementations of the core processing module 200 forphysical devices and not for the channel sharing gateway 104. However,it should be noted that the channel sharing gateway 104 may also beaddressed directly rather than perform message interception asappropriate for a given implementation. As such, the channel sharinggateway 104 may also have a SIM module without departure from the scopeof the present subject matter.

A timer/clock module 220 is illustrated and used to determine timing anddate information, such as for use in association with sending tokens towireless devices to cause/trigger them to report data (e.g., readings,etc.), as described above and in more detail below. As such, the addresstranslation processing module 214 may utilize information derived fromthe timer/clock module 220 for information processing activities, suchas the automated multi-device monitoring and control using intelligentdevice channel sharing described herein.

The CPU 202, the display 204, the input device 206, the communicationmodule 208, the memory 210, the address translation processing module214, the shared-identity SIM 216, the individual-identity SIM 218, andthe timer/clock module 220 are interconnected via an interconnection222. The interconnection 222 may include a system bus, a network, or anyother interconnection capable of providing the respective componentswith suitable interconnection for the respective purpose.

While the core processing module 200 is illustrated with and has certaincomponents described, other modules and components may be associatedwith the core processing module 200 without departure from the scope ofthe present subject matter. Additionally, it should be noted that, whilethe core processing module 200 is described as a single device for easeof illustration purposes, the components within the core processingmodule 200 may be co-located or distributed and interconnected via anetwork without departure from the scope of the present subject matter.For a distributed arrangement, the display 204 and the input device 206may be located at a kiosk or other location, while the CPU 202 andmemory 210 may be located at a local or remote server. Many otherpossible arrangements for components of the core processing module 200are possible and all are considered within the scope of the presentsubject matter. Accordingly, the core processing module 200 may takemany forms and may be associated with many platforms.

FIG. 3 through FIG. 7 described below represent example processes thatmay be executed by devices, such as the core processing module 200, toperform the automated multi-device monitoring and control usingintelligent device channel sharing associated with the present subjectmatter. Many other variations on the example processes are possible andall are considered within the scope of the present subject matter. Theexample processes may be performed by modules, such as the addresstranslation processing module 214 and/or executed by the CPU 202,associated with such devices. It should be noted that time outprocedures and other error control procedures are not illustrated withinthe example processes described below for ease of illustration purposes.However, it is understood that all such procedures are considered to bewithin the scope of the present subject matter. Further, the describedprocesses may be combined, sequences of the processing described may bechanged, and additional processing may be added without departure fromthe scope of the present subject matter.

FIG. 3 is a message flow diagram of an example of an implementation of amessaging 300 for device interactions for sharing of a shared-identitysubscriber identity module (SIM) to implement automated multi-devicemonitoring and control using intelligent device channel sharing within acellular network. For purposes of the present example, only two devices,the physical device_(—)1 116 and the physical device_(—)2 118, of thelogical device_(—)1 112 of FIG. 1 are illustrated due to drawing spacelimitations within the drawing of FIG. 3. All devices within a physicalgroup may power up and attempt to activate and register with the HLR 140using the shared-identity SIM 216. However, as described in more detailbelow, only the first device successfully registers with the HLR 140using the shared-identity SIM 216. The channel sharing gateway 104facilitates use of the shared-identity SIM 216 by other physical deviceswithin the logical device_(—)1 112, as described in more detail below.

It is assumed for purposes of example that the physical device_(—)1 116attempts to activate and register with the HLR 140 within system 100first and that the physical device_(—)2 118 attempts to activate andregister with the HLR 140 second. It is understood that any devicewithin a logical device group may attempt to activate and register firstand that the processing described in association with the physicaldevice_(—)2 118 (e.g., the second device to attempt to activate andregister for purposes of example) may be performed by any subsequentphysical device associated with the logical device_(—)1 112 thatattempts to activate and register with the HLR 140 after one device hassuccessfully registered using the shared-identity SIM 216.

Within the example of FIG. 3, the physical device_(—)1 116 powers up orotherwise attempts to activate and register with the HLR 140 using theshared-identity SIM 216 of the physical device_(—)1 116 (line 1). TheHLR 140 determines that the shared-identity SIM 216 is not alreadyregistered within the system 100 and registers the physical device_(—)1116 within the system 100. The HLR 140 responds indicating that theregistration was successful and sends one or more session encryptionkeys as appropriate for the given implementation, which are received bythe physical device_(—)1 116 (line 2). The physical device_(—)1 116sends the received session encryption key(s) to the channel sharinggateway 104 (line 3). The channel sharing gateway 104 stores the sessionencryption key(s) in association with the logical device_(—)1 112 andthe physical device_(—)1 116 within the logical address managementstorage area 212 of the channel sharing gateway 104. The channel sharinggateway 104 begins communications with the physical device_(—)1 116using the shared-identity SIM 216 and passing one or more tokens to thephysical device_(—)1 116 to cause the physical device_(—)1 116 to senddata packets (e.g., readings, measurements, status, etc.), and thephysical device_(—)1 116 begins processing messaging via theshared-identity SIM 216 (line 4), including any appropriateconfiguration of the physical device_(—)1 116.

The application server 102 is omitted from FIG. 3 due to spaceconstraints within the drawing figure. However, it is understood thatthe channel sharing gateway 104 may further communicate messages betweenthe physical device_(—)1 116 and the application server 102, asdescribed above and in more detail below.

The physical device_(—)2 118 powers up or otherwise attempts to activateand register with the HLR 140 using the shared-identity SIM 216 of thephysical device_(—)2 118 (line 5). The HLR 140 recognizes that theshared-identity SIM 216 is already registered within the system 100 andrefuses registration for the physical device_(—)2 118 as indicated bythe registration failure (line 6). The physical device_(—)2 118 thenswitches to use the individual-identity SIM 218 and attempts to activateand register with the HLR 140 using the individual-identity SIM 218 ofthe physical device_(—)2 118 (line 7). The HLR 140 determines that theindividual-identity SIM 218 is not already registered within the system100 and registers the physical device_(—)2 118 within the system 100.The HLR 140 responds indicating that the registration was successful andsends one or more session encryption keys as appropriate for the givenimplementation, which are received by the physical device_(—)2 118 (line8).

The registered physical device_(—)2 118 then communicates with andrequests the session key(s) for using the shared-identity SIM 216 fromthe channel sharing gateway 104 (line 9). The channel sharing gateway104 confirms that the physical device_(—)2 118 is associated with andforms a portion of the logical device pool represented by the logicaldevice_(—)1 112. The channel sharing gateway 104 sends the storedsession encryption key(s) for the shared-identity SIM 216 to thephysical device_(—)2 118 (line 10). The physical device_(—)2 118 appliesthe received session encryption key(s) to activate the shared-identitySIM 216 for use within the system 100 where the physical device_(—)1 116has already registered (block 302). The physical device_(—)2 118 beginsprocessing of messages from the channel sharing gateway 104.

The channel sharing gateway 104 continues communications with thephysical device_(—)1 116 and the physical device_(—)2 118 via a singleshared communication channel, such as the communication channel 108 ofFIG. 1, using the shared-identity SIM 216 (lines 4 and 11), includingany appropriate configuration of the physical device_(—)2 118, andpassing one or more tokens to the physical device_(—)1 116 and thephysical device_(—)2 118 to cause the respective devices to send datapackets (e.g., readings, measurements, status, etc.).

As noted above, the application server 102 is omitted from FIG. 3 due tospace constraints within the drawing figure. However, it is understoodthat the channel sharing gateway 104 may further communicate messagesbetween the respective physical devices and the application server 102,as described above and in more detail below.

It should also be noted that the channel sharing gateway 104 may alsoinstruct the physical devices to register or maintain registration viathe respective individual-identity SIM 218 for purposes of upgrading(e.g., downloading firmware, etc.) to the respective physical devices.As such, the channel sharing gateway 104 may control provisioning of therespective physical devices within logical device pools/groups.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an example of an implementation of a process400 for automated multi-device monitoring and control using intelligentdevice channel sharing. At block 402, the process 400 assigns a sharedlogical device physical network address to each of a plurality ofwireless physical devices, where the plurality of wireless physicaldevices form a logical device group addressable over a single wirelesscommunication channel via the shared logical device physical networkaddress within a wireless network. At block 404, the process 400translates, in response to receipt of a first data packet addressed to aphysical network address of one of the plurality of wireless physicaldevices from an application server, the physical network address to theshared logical device physical network address with which the one of theplurality of wireless physical devices is logically grouped. At block406, the process 400 embeds the physical network address of the one ofthe plurality of wireless physical devices within the first data packetaddressed to the shared logical device physical network address. Atblock 408, the process 400 sends the first data packet to the sharedlogical device physical network address.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an example of an implementation of a process500 for address translation and messaging interactions at a channelsharing gateway, such as the channel sharing gateway 104, for automatedmulti-device monitoring and control using intelligent device channelsharing. Details of a registration process for wireless physical devicesto register with the channel sharing gateway 104 as a shared-identitylogical device are described below in association with FIG. 7 and hasbeen deferred in favor of the describing the present higher-levelmessaging example. At decision point 502, the process 500 makes adetermination as to whether a message has been received. Thedetermination as to whether a message has been received may be made, forexample, in response to interception of a message or data packet from anapplication server, such as the application server 102, or from aphysical device associated with a logical device group/pool, such as thelogical device_(—)1 112. In response to determining that a message hasnot been detected as being received, the process 500 makes adetermination at decision point 504 as to whether a broadcast messagefor any physical devices associated with a logical device group/pool arepending for broadcast. A broadcast message may be pending for broadcastand used, for example, to provide notifications to multiple physicaldevices associated with one or more logical device groups/pools. Abroadcast message may originate from the channel sharing gateway 104 orelsewhere as appropriate for a given implementation. In response todetermining that a broadcast message is not pending for any physicaldevices associated with a logical device group/pool, the process 500returns to decision point 502 and iterates as described above.

Returning to the description of decision point 504, in response todetermining that a broadcast message is pending for broadcast tomultiple physical devices within a logical device group/pool, theprocess 500 forms the broadcast message (e.g., data packet) at block506. At block 508, the process 500 determines the physical devices towhich the broadcast message is to be addressed. At block 510, theprocess 500 embeds a physical network address of each wireless physicaldevice into the formed data packet, such as within a payload of the datapacket. At block 512, the process 500 sends the broadcast message to theshared logical device physical network address (i.e., common logicaldevice identity). The process 500 then returns to decision point 502 anditerates as described above.

As described above and in more detail below, each physical deviceassociated with a logical device group receives and processes eachmessage to determine whether an individual physical device networkaddress of the respective device is embedded within the data packet,which indicates that the data packet is addressed to the respectivedevice. The device may then pass the data packet or payload to higherlevel functionality within the respective device for processing. In thismanner, broadcast messaging may be distributed to multiple devices usinga single wireless communication channel by embedding multiple devicephysical network addresses within a single data packet and sending thedata packet to the shared logical device physical network address overthe single channel. The process 500 then returns to decision point 502and iterates as described above.

Returning to the description of decision point 502, in response todetermining that a message has been detected as being received, theprocess 500 makes a determination at decision point 514 as to whetherthe message has been intercepted in route to a wireless physical devicefrom an application server or to an application server from a wirelessphysical device. It should be noted that messaging associated with oneor more application servers, such as the application server 102, may beprocessed by a single channel sharing gateway.

In response to determining that the detected message has beenintercepted in route to a wireless physical device from an applicationserver, at block 516 the process 500 translates the physical networkaddress of the wireless physical device to which the message isaddressed to the shared logical device physical network address withwhich the wireless physical device is logically grouped. At block 518,the process 500 embeds the physical network address of the one of theplurality of wireless physical devices within the data packet addressedto the shared logical device physical network address. At decision point520, the process 500 makes a determination as to whether the request isa data reporting request from the respective application server. Inresponse to determining that the request is a data reporting requestfrom the respective application server, the process 500 inserts a tokenaddressed to the respective wireless physical device into the datapacket at block 522. As described above and in more detail below,insertion of the token in the data packet causes one of the plurality ofwireless physical devices to initiate transmission of data generated bythe respective wireless physical device.

It should be noted that a reporting request may be broadcast from theapplication server 102 and intercepted by the channel sharing gateway104 via multiple wireless channels from the application server 102. Insuch a situation, the process 500 may be modified to recognize thereporting and perform a round robin token distribution to cause therespective wireless physical devices to report in turn via the singleshared communication channel. However, the application server 102 mayalso request reporting from single devices over separate channels usingthe respective individual-identity SIM as appropriate for a givenimplementation.

It should further be noted that the token may be any data identifier asappropriate for a given implementation. Additionally, as describedabove, the physical network address of the wireless physical devices maybe used as the token. In such an implementation, the processingdescribed in association with decision point 520 and block 522 may beomitted because the “token” (e.g., the physical network address of thewireless physical device) has already been embedded within the datapacket at block 518.

In response to either inserting the token into the data packet at block522 or in response to determining at decision point 520 that the messageis not a data reporting request, the process 500 sends the data packetto the shared logical device physical network address at block 524. Theprocess 500 returns to decision point 502 and iterates as describedabove.

Returning to the description of decision point 514, it should be notedthat in response to token insertion (e.g., identifier or address itself)into a data packet that causes data reporting by one or more of thewireless physical devices, the process 500 may further receive the datagenerated by one or more of the wireless physical devices. The data maybe received in a data packet with the shared logical device physicalnetwork address as a data packet source address and the physical networkaddress of one of the plurality of wireless physical devices embeddedwithin the payload. As such, in response to determining at decisionpoint 514 that the message has been intercepted in route to anapplication server from a wireless physical device, the process 500extracts the physical network address of the wireless physical devicefrom which the message was received from the message payload of the datapacket at block 526. At block 528, the process 500 translates the datapacket source address from the shared logical device physical networkaddress to the physical network address of the wireless physical device.This processing allows the data packet to appear within the network tohave originated from the wireless physical device without translation.At block 530, the process 500 sends the data packet to the applicationserver 102. The process 500 returns to decision point 502 and iteratesas described above.

As such, the process 500 intercepts message sent between one or moreapplication servers and multiple wireless physical devices that arelogically grouped/pooled. Messaging between the process 500 and theapplication server(s) occurs over multiple communication channels, whilemessaging between the wireless physical device and the process 500occurs over a single communication channel per logical group. Theprocess 500 performs broadcast messaging to wireless physical devices.The process 500 also performs address translation between the sharedlogical device physical network address of the respective logical devicegroups/pools and individual wireless device physical network addressesfor the respective messaging interfaces.

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate a flow chart of an example of an implementationof a process 600 associated with wireless physical devices, such as thephysical device_(—)1 116 through the physical device_M 126, forautomated multi-device monitoring and control using intelligent devicechannel sharing. FIG. 6A illustrates initial processing within theprocess 600. At decision point 602, the process 600 makes adetermination as to whether a device activation sequence is in process.A device activation sequence may result from a power cycle or reboot ofthe physical device, or may be caused by other processing as appropriatefor the given implementation. Processing for a negative determination atdecision point 602 will be described in detail further below. Inresponse to determining at decision point 602 that a device activationsequence is in process, the process 600 sends a registration request, asappropriate for the given implementation, to the home location register(HLR) 140 via the shared-identity SIM 216. This initial attempt toregister with the HLR 140 via the shared-identity SIM 216 may besuccessful if this is the first registration attempt from a physicaldevice among the respective logical device group. Otherwise, theregistration attempt may fail, which will provide information that atleast one other physical device within the logical group may alreadyregistered to use the shared-identity SIM 216.

At decision point 606, the process 600 makes a determination as towhether session information (e.g., encryption key(s), etc.) for use withthe shared-identity SIM 216 has been received. For purposes of thepresent example, it is assumed that this iteration of processing isperformed by the first physical device to attempt to register. Inresponse to determining that the session information for use with theshared-identity SIM 216 has not been received, the process 600 makes adetermination at decision point 608 as to whether the registration hasbeen refused by the HLR 140. Because this iteration describes processingassociated with the first attempt to register, it is assumed that theregistration was not refused. In response to determining that theregistration was not refused, the process 600 returns to decision point606 and iterates as described above.

In response to a determination at decision point 606 that theregistration was successful and that the session information has beenreceived from the HLR 140, the process 600 stores the sessioninformation at block 610. At block 612, the process 600 sends a messagewith the session information using the shared logical device physicalnetwork address as the source address and the physical network addressof the respective physical device embedded into the message to thechannel sharing gateway 104. This sending of the session informationwith the embedded physical network address to the channel sharinggateway 104 also operates to register the physical device that sends themessage as the first active device within the respective logical devicegroup/pool. As such, the first physical device may be consideredconfigured and ready to receive messaging from the channel sharinggateway 104 via the shared-identity SIM 216, as described further below.The process 600 returns to decision point 602 and iterates as describedabove and may begin listening for messages as described in more detailfurther below.

Processing performed in response to a refused registration will now bedescribed. This processing may be performed by any device that is asecond or subsequent physical device to attempt to register using theshared-identity SIM 216.

Returning to the description of decision point 608, in response todetermining that the registration has been refused by the HLR 140, theprocess 600 configures the individual-identity SIM 218 forcommunications at block 614. At block 616, the process 600 sends aregistration request to the HLR 140 via the individual-identity SIM 218.The process 600 makes a determination at decision point 618 as towhether session information has been received. For purposes of thepresent example it is assumed that this registration attempt is notrefused. As such, in response to determining that session informationhas been received, the process 600 sends a request to the channelsharing gateway 104 for the session information for use of theshared-identity SIM 216 at block 620. This processing allows the secondor subsequent physical device in the device group to obtain the sessioninformation for use of the shared communication channel of the wirelessnetwork.

At decision point 622, the process 600 makes a determination as towhether session information has been received from the channel sharinggateway 104. For purposes of the present example, it is assumed that therequesting device is registered with the channel sharing gateway 104 aspart of the logical device group associated with the particularshared-identity SIM 216 and that the channel sharing gateway 104 willreturn the session information for use of the shared-identity SIM 216.

As such, in response to receipt of the session information for use ofthe shared-identity SIM 216, the process 600 configures theshared-identity SIM 216 for communications with the session informationreceived from the channel sharing gateway 104 at block 624. At block626, the process 600 sends an activation confirmation message with theshared logical device physical network address as the source address andthe physical network address of the respective physical device embeddedinto the message to the channel sharing gateway 104. The channel sharinggateway 104 processes the activation confirmation and may include thissecond and subsequent device within the processing of messagetranslation between the application server 102 and the respectivephysical devices via a single wireless communication channel via theshared-identity SIM 216. The process 600 returns to decision point 602and iterates as described above.

Returning to the description of decision point 602, in response todetermining that a device activation sequence is not in process (i.e.,that the device is already activated and configured to use theshared-identity SIM 216), the process 600 makes a determination atdecision point 628 as to whether a message has been received via thesingle wireless communication channel via the shared-identity SIM 216from the channel sharing gateway 104. In response to determining that amessage has been received via the single wireless communication channelvia the shared-identity SIM 216 from the channel sharing gateway 104,the process 600 transitions to the processing shown and described inassociation with FIG. 6B.

FIG. 6B illustrates additional processing associated with the process600 associated with wireless physical devices, such as the physicaldevice_(—)1 116 through the physical device_M 126, for automatedmulti-device monitoring and control using intelligent device channelsharing. At block 630, the process 600 extracts one or more embeddedaddresses from the message. At block 632, the process 600 compares theextracted embedded address(es) with the local physical address, such asthe individual-identity SIM. At decision point 634, the process 600makes a determination as to whether there is an address match betweenthe local physical address and any of the extracted embedded addresses.In response to determining that there is not an address match betweenthe local physical address and any of the extracted embedded addresses,the process 600 returns to the processing associated with FIG. 6A atdecision point 602 and iterates as described above.

In response to determining at decision point 634 that there is anaddress match between the local physical address and one of theextracted embedded addresses, the process 600 makes a determination atdecision point 636 as to whether a token is included in the messagereceived from the channel sharing gateway 104. As described above, atoken may be included in messages to cause the respective physicaldevices addressed within the payload of the messages to send datacollected by the respective physical devices. The data gatheringprocessing is not described herein for brevity. However, it isunderstood that any data gathering operations may be included within theprocess 600 as appropriate for a given implementation.

In response to determining that a token is included within the message,the process 600 sends a data collection message, including any collecteddata requested via the respective token, to the channel sharing gateway104 at block 638 using the shared logical device physical networkaddress as the source address and the physical network address of therespective physical device embedded into the message. In response todetermining that a token is not included within the message, the process600 processes the message at block 640. Processing of the message mayinclude configuration options, indications to store data or information,or any other processing appropriate for a given implementation. Themessage may also be a broadcast message that is processed by multipledevices for such purposes. In response to either sending the datacollection message at block 638 or processing the message at block 640,the process 600 returns to the processing associated with FIG. 6A atdecision point 602 and iterates as described above.

As such, the process 600 determines whether registration is possiblewith the HLR 140 via the shared-identity SIM 216. If registration issuccessful via the shared-identity SIM 216, the process 600 receivessession information and sends the session information to the channelsharing gateway 104 for distribution to other physical devices withinthe same logical group. Second and subsequent devices register with theHLR 140 using the respective individual-identity SIM 218 and communicatewith the channel sharing gateway 104 to obtain the session informationand to configure the shared-identity SIM 216 for communications over thesingle wireless communication channel using the session informationreceived from the channel sharing gateway 104. Once registered andactivated via the shared-identity SIM 216, devices process messages asdirected by the channel sharing gateway 104 via tokens that identifytransmission windows available to the respective physical devices viathe single shared wireless channel.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an example of an implementation of a process700 for registration of physical devices at a channel sharing gateway,such as the channel sharing gateway 104, for automated multi-devicemonitoring and control using intelligent device channel sharing. Atdecision point 702, the process 700 makes a determination as to whethersession information for a shared-identity SIM, such as theshared-identity SIM 216, for a logical device group/pool has beenreceived. The process 700 receives the session information fromauthorized physical devices via the shared-identity SIM 216. As such,the process 700 may receive wireless session information for cellularcommunication with the logical device group from the one of the wirelessphysical devices in the logical device group, as described above.

In response to determining that session information for ashared-identity SIM for a logical device group/pool has been received,the process 700 determines the logical device group with which thesession information is associated at block 704. This determination mayinclude extracting the shared logical device physical network addressfrom the source address area of a packet header.

At decision point 706, the process 700 makes a determination as towhether any devices are currently registered as active devices withinthe logical device group. Receipt of session information from devicesassociated with a logical device group where another device is alreadyregistered as an active device within a logical device group may beconsidered an error condition. In response to determining that nodevices are currently registered as active devices within the logicaldevice group, the process 700 determines the physical device from whichthe session information was received at block 708. This determinationmay include extracting the physical network address from the payload ofthe data packet within which the session information was received.

At decision point 710, the process 700 makes a determination as towhether the identified physical device is registered with the logicaldevice group as an authorized device within the logical device group. Inresponse to determining that the identified physical device isregistered with the logical device group as an authorized device withinthe group, the process 700 sets an activated status for the physicaldevice at block 712. At block 714, the process 700 stores the sessioninformation (e.g., wireless session information) for the logical devicegroup.

In response to either determining at decision point 706 that at leastone device is currently registered as an active device within thelogical device group or in response to determining at decision point 710that the identified physical device is not registered with the logicaldevice group as an authorized device within the logical device group,the process 700 generates an error at block 716, which may includelogging the error, or generating a message (e.g., email, text, orotherwise) that informs an administrator of the error. The process 700returns to decision point 702 and iterates as described above.

Returning to the description of decision point 702, in response todetermining that session information has not been received, the process700 makes a determination at decision point 718 as to whether a requestfor session information has been received from a second or subsequentdevice within the logical device group via a communication initiated bythe second of the plurality of wireless physical devices using anindividual-identity SIM 218. In response to determining that a requestfor session information has been received from a second or subsequentdevice within the logical device group, the process 700 determines thelogical device group with which the request for session information isassociated at block 720. This determination may include extracting theshared logical device physical network address from the source addressarea of a packet header.

At decision point 722, the process 700 makes a determination as towhether any session information is stored for the logical device group.Absence of stored session information may be considered an errorcondition. In response to determining that session information is storedfor the logical device group, the process 700 determines the physicaldevice from which the request for session information was received atblock 724. This determination may include extracting the physicalnetwork address from the payload of the data packet within which thesession information was received. In this branch of the processing, asdescribed above, the physical network address may be theindividual-identity SIM 218 of the respective physical device.

At decision point 726, the process 700 makes a determination as towhether the identified physical device is registered with (as part of)the logical device group as an authorized device within the logicaldevice group. In response to determining that the identified physicaldevice is registered with the logical device group as an authorizeddevice within the group, the process 700 retrieves the stored sessioninformation and sends the session information to the requesting physicaldevice using the physical network address associated with theindividual-identity SIM 218 at block 728. At block 730, the process 700sets an activated status for the physical device, which adds the secondor subsequent physical device as an active device within a tokenrotation with other active wireless physical devices of the logicaldevice group/pool.

In response to either determining at decision point 722 that sessioninformation is not stored for the logical device group or in response todetermining at decision point 726 that the identified physical device isnot registered with the logical device group as an authorized devicewithin the logical device group, the process 700 generates an error atblock 732, which may include logging the error, or generating a message(e.g., email, text, or otherwise) that informs an administrator of theerror. In response to either generating the error at block 732 or inresponse to setting the activated status for the physical device atblock 730, the process 700 returns to decision point 702 and iterates asdescribed above.

As such, the process 700 operates to receive and store wireless sessioninformation for logical device groups and performs confirmations toverify authenticity of the devices from which the wireless sessioninformation is received. The process 700 receives the sessioninformation from authorized physical devices via the shared-identity SIM216. The process 700 also processes requests from second and subsequentphysical devices within the logical device groups for wireless sessioninformation, and performs confirmations to verify authenticity of thedevices from which the requests for the wireless session information arereceived. The process 700 sends the session information to authorizedphysical devices via the individual-identity SIM 218 and adds authorizedsubsequent physical devices as active devices.

As described above in association with FIG. 1 through FIG. 7, theexample systems and processes provide automated multi-device monitoringand control using intelligent device channel sharing. Many othervariations and additional activities associated with automatedmulti-device monitoring and control using intelligent device channelsharing are possible and all are considered within the scope of thepresent subject matter.

Those skilled in the art will recognize, upon consideration of the aboveteachings, that certain of the above examples are based upon use of aprogrammed processor, such as the CPU 202. However, the invention is notlimited to such example embodiments, since other embodiments could beimplemented using hardware component equivalents such as special purposehardware and/or dedicated processors. Similarly, general purposecomputers, microprocessor based computers, micro-controllers, opticalcomputers, analog computers, dedicated processors, application specificcircuits and/or dedicated hard wired logic may be used to constructalternative equivalent embodiments.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, amagnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium maybe any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use byor in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as JAVA™, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention have been described with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablestorage medium produce an article of manufacture including instructionswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

A data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing programcode will include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectlyto memory elements through a system bus. The memory elements can includelocal memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulkstorage, and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at leastsome program code in order to reduce the number of times code must beretrieved from bulk storage during execution.

Input/output or 110 devices (including but not limited to keyboards,displays, pointing devices, etc.) can be coupled to the system eitherdirectly or through intervening 110 controllers.

Network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable the dataprocessing system to become coupled to other data processing systems orremote printers or storage devices through intervening private or publicnetworks. Modems, cable modems and Ethernet cards are just a few of thecurrently available types of network adapters.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: translating, in response toreceipt of a first data packet addressed to a physical network addressof one of a plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devicesfrom an application server, the physical network address to a sharedlogical device physical network address that forms a logical devicegroup and that physically addresses each of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices over a single wireless communicationchannel; embedding the physical network address of the one of theplurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices within thefirst data packet addressed to the shared logical device physicalnetwork address; and sending the first data packet to the shared logicaldevice physical network address.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising inserting a token in the first data packet addressed to theshared logical device physical network address to cause the one of theplurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices to initiatetransmission of customer-premise monitoring data generated by the one ofthe plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising: receiving, in a second datapacket comprising a data packet source address of the shared logicaldevice physical network address and a payload with the physical networkaddress of the one of the plurality of wireless customer-premisemonitoring devices, the customer-premise monitoring data generated bythe one of the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devicesin response to the token inserted into the first data packet addressedto the shared logical device physical network address; translating thedata packet source address of the second data packet from the sharedlogical device physical network address to the physical network addressof the one of the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoringdevices; and sending the second data packet to the application server.4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: embedding the physicalnetwork address of the one of the plurality of wireless customer-premisemonitoring devices within a broadcast data packet addressed to theshared logical device physical network address; embedding a physicalnetwork address of at least one additional wireless customer-premisemonitoring device of the plurality of wireless customer-premisemonitoring devices within the broadcast data packet addressed to theshared logical device physical network address; and sending thebroadcast data packet to the shared logical device physical networkaddress.
 5. The method of claim 1, where: the wireless network comprisesa wireless cellular network; and wireless customer-premise monitoringdevices within the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoringdevices are configured with each of: a shared-identity subscriberidentity module (SIM) that operates to communicate via the sharedlogical device physical network address; and an individual-identity SIMthat operates to communicate via the physical network address of therespective one of the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoringdevices; and further comprising: receiving wireless session informationfor cellular communication with the logical device group from the one ofthe plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices; andstoring the wireless session information.
 6. The method of claim 5,further comprising: receiving a request for the wireless sessioninformation from a second of the plurality of wireless customer-premisemonitoring devices via a communication initiated by the second of theplurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices using theindividual-identity SIM; retrieving the stored wireless sessioninformation; and sending the wireless session information to the secondof the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices usingthe physical network address associated with the individual-identitySIM.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: determining whetherthe second of the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoringdevices is registered as part of the logical device group; where sendingthe wireless session information to the second of the plurality ofwireless customer-premise monitoring devices using the physical networkaddress associated with the individual-identity SIM comprises sendingthe wireless session information to the second of the plurality ofwireless customer-premise monitoring devices using the physical networkaddress associated with the individual-identity SIM in response todetermining that the second of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices is registered as part of the logicaldevice group; and further comprising adding the second of the pluralityof wireless customer-premise monitoring devices as an active devicewithin a token rotation with other active devices of the plurality ofwireless customer-premise monitoring devices.
 8. A system, comprising: acommunication module; and a processor programmed to: translate, inresponse to receipt of a first data packet addressed to a physicalnetwork address of one of a plurality of wireless customer-premisemonitoring devices from an application server, the physical networkaddress to a shared logical device physical network address that forms alogical device group and that physically addresses each of the pluralityof wireless customer-premise monitoring devices over a single wirelesscommunication channel; embed the physical network address of the one ofthe plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices within thefirst data packet addressed to the shared logical device physicalnetwork address; and send, via the communication module, the first datapacket to the shared logical device physical network address.
 9. Thesystem of claim 8, where the processor is further programmed to: inserta token in the first data packet addressed to the shared logical devicephysical network address to cause the one of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices to initiate transmission ofcustomer-premise monitoring data generated by the one of the pluralityof wireless customer-premise monitoring devices; receive, via thecommunication module, in a second data packet comprising a data packetsource address of the shared logical device physical network address anda payload with the physical network address of the one of the pluralityof wireless customer-premise monitoring devices, the customer-premisemonitoring data generated by the one of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices in response to the token insertedinto the first data packet addressed to the shared logical devicephysical network address; translate the data packet source address ofthe second data packet from the shared logical device physical networkaddress to the physical network address of the one of the plurality ofwireless customer-premise monitoring devices; and send, via thecommunication module, the second data packet to the application server.10. The system of claim 8, where the processor is further programmed to:embed the physical network address of the one of the plurality ofwireless customer-premise monitoring devices within a broadcast datapacket addressed to the shared logical device physical network address;embed a physical network address of at least one additional wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring device of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices within the broadcast data packetaddressed to the shared logical device physical network address; andsend, via the communication module, the broadcast data packet to theshared logical device physical network address.
 11. The system of claim8, further comprising a memory and where: the wireless network comprisesa wireless cellular network; and wireless customer-premise monitoringdevices within the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoringdevices are configured with each of: a shared-identity subscriberidentity module (SIM) that operates to communicate via the sharedlogical device physical network address; and an individual-identity SIMthat operates to communicate via the physical network address of therespective one of the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoringdevices; and the processor is further programmed to: receive, via thecommunication module, wireless session information for cellularcommunication with the logical device group from the one of theplurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices; and store thewireless session information in the memory.
 12. The system of claim 11,where the processor is further programmed to: receive, via thecommunication module, a request for the wireless session informationfrom a second of the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoringdevices via a communication initiated by the second of the plurality ofwireless customer-premise monitoring devices using theindividual-identity SIM; retrieve the stored wireless sessioninformation from the memory; and send, via the communication module, thewireless session information to the second of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices using the physical network addressassociated with the individual-identity SIM.
 13. The system of claim 12,where the processor is further programmed to: determine whether thesecond of the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devicesis registered as part of the logical device group; where, in beingprogrammed to send, via the communication module, the wireless sessioninformation to the second of the plurality of wireless customer-premisemonitoring devices using the physical network address associated withthe individual-identity SIM, the processor is programmed to send, viathe communication module, the wireless session information to the secondof the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices usingthe physical network address associated with the individual-identity SIMin response to determining that the second of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices is registered as part of the logicaldevice group; and where the processor is further programmed to add thesecond of the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devicesas an active device within a token rotation with other active devices ofthe plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices.
 14. Acomputer program product comprising a computer readable storage mediumincluding computer readable program code, where the computer readableprogram code when executed on a computer causes the computer to:translate, in response to receipt of a first data packet addressed to aphysical network address of one of a plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices from an application server, thephysical network address to a shared logical device physical networkaddress that forms a logical device group and that physically addresseseach of the plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devicesover a single wireless communication channel; embed the physical networkaddress of the one of the plurality of wireless customer-premisemonitoring devices within the first data packet addressed to the sharedlogical device physical network address; and send the first data packetto the shared logical device physical network address.
 15. The computerprogram product of claim 14, where the computer readable program codewhen executed on the computer further causes the computer to insert atoken in the first data packet addressed to the shared logical devicephysical network address to cause the one of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices to initiate transmission ofcustomer-premise monitoring data generated by the one of the pluralityof wireless customer-premise monitoring devices.
 16. The computerprogram product of claim 15, where the computer readable program codewhen executed on the computer further causes the computer to: receive,in a second data packet comprising a data packet source address of theshared logical device physical network address and a payload with thephysical network address of the one of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices, the customer-premise monitoringdata generated by the one of the plurality of wireless customer-premisemonitoring devices in response to the token inserted into the first datapacket addressed to the shared logical device physical network address;translate the data packet source address of the second data packet fromthe shared logical device physical network address to the physicalnetwork address of the one of the plurality of wireless customer-premisemonitoring devices; and send the second data packet to the applicationserver.
 17. The computer program product of claim 14, where the computerreadable program code when executed on the computer further causes thecomputer to: embed the physical network address of the one of theplurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices within abroadcast data packet addressed to the shared logical device physicalnetwork address; embed a physical network address of at least oneadditional wireless customer-premise monitoring device of the pluralityof wireless customer-premise monitoring devices within the broadcastdata packet addressed to the shared logical device physical networkaddress; and send the broadcast data packet to the shared logical devicephysical network address.
 18. The computer program product of claim 14,where: the wireless network comprises a wireless cellular network; andwireless customer-premise monitoring devices within the plurality ofwireless customer-premise monitoring devices are configured with eachof: a shared-identity subscriber identity module (SIM) that operates tocommunicate via the shared logical device physical network address; andan individual-identity SIM that operates to communicate via the physicalnetwork address of the respective one of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices; and the computer readable programcode when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:receive wireless session information for cellular communication with thelogical device group from the one of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices; and store the wireless sessioninformation.
 19. The computer program product of claim 18, where thecomputer readable program code when executed on the computer furthercauses the computer to: receive a request for the wireless sessioninformation from a second of the plurality of wireless customer-premisemonitoring devices via a communication initiated by the second of theplurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices using theindividual-identity SIM; retrieve the stored wireless sessioninformation; and send the wireless session information to the second ofthe plurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices using thephysical network address associated with the individual-identity SIM.20. The computer program product of claim 19, where the computerreadable program code when executed on the computer further causes thecomputer to: determine whether the second of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices is registered as part of the logicaldevice group; and where, in causing the computer to send the wirelesssession information to the second of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices using the physical network addressassociated with the individual-identity SIM the computer readableprogram code when executed on the computer causes the computer to sendthe wireless session information to the second of the plurality ofwireless customer-premise monitoring devices using the physical networkaddress associated with the individual-identity SIM in response todetermining that the second of the plurality of wirelesscustomer-premise monitoring devices is registered as part of the logicaldevice group; and where the computer readable program code when executedon the computer further causes the computer to add the second of theplurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices as an activedevice within a token rotation with other active devices of theplurality of wireless customer-premise monitoring devices.